Manufacture of staple fiber yarn



MANUFACTURE OF STAPLE FIBER YARN'..

Filed Oct. 6, 1938 45 N y 48g .A WILLIAM POOL Inventor j y l Attorney.'

Patented Dec. 17, 1940 Y 2,224,923 MANUFACTURE- 0F STAPLE FIBER YARNWilliam Pool, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignor to CelaneseCorporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Applicationoetber 6,193s, serialNo; 233,536 In Great Britain October 29,1937

7 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of staple fiber yarn, and inparticular to the manufacture of staple fiber yarn from continuousfilaments.

According to the present invention staple fiber yarns or like productsare produced by extruding a spinning solution in the form of a bundle ofcontinuous filaments, drawing said filaments from the point of extrusionand winding them on a package support by positively rotating saidpackage support, so that the denier of the bundle varies inversely withthe varying diameter of the package during its formation', andsubsequently positively rotating said package support to permit thewithdrawal of the filaments, separating the filaments from each other,cutting successive groups of separated fibers of predetermined lengthfrom the ends of the separated filaments, assembling said ,groups yinsuch' a manner that the forward .ends of bers of each group extendbeyond the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group and'compacting the assembled groups of lfibers intoa coherent staple fiberproduct of substantially uniform. denier,

y for example in the manner described in U. S.

applications S. Nos. 155,226 filed 23rd July 1937 and 168,862 filed 14thOctober 1937. l j

'Ihe positive drivingv of the. package support during the production ofthe filaments resultsin the peripheral speed of the package increasingwith the diameter of the package, and in consequence in progressivediminution, in the ,denier ofthe individual filaments as well asof thetotal bundle of filaments, since ,the llinear rate of 'production of thefilaments is determined by the.

package drawing the iilaments'from the jet at a speed always equal toits peripheral speed. However, the positive driving of thepackagesupport in the unwinding "operation provides a directcompensation for thisA diminution, thev ratev of unwinding graduallydecreasing'with decrease in package diameter. Consequently," the ratevof feed of the filaments in the unwinding operation is constant as faras weight is concerned, Aand the resultant product is of substantiallyuniform Weight, although the denier of its individual fibersprogressively increases from the beginning of the operation on thematerial Aof a particular package to the end. A uniform rate of cuttingproduces fibers whose length diminishes as the supply package isconsumed, but this diminution in length is compensated by theprogressive increase in fiber denier.

A further feature of the invention is the simultaneous production of aplurality of staple ments are merely laid on the package and are 1,

lnot pressed in between each other or into the surface of the. packageas in the case of the usual drum-winding operation used for packagingyarn at constant speed. This further method of operation according tothe invention Yenables the product of a single spinning jet in thecontinuous filament producing machine to be formed into a plurality ofstaple iiber products of low or relatively low Weight, without requiringthe use of more than one winding unit to deal with the product of theone jet.

'I'he unwinding of the 'continuous filaments by positivedriving of thepackage support causes the filaments to be delivered from the packageata rate proportional to the delivery speed of the. package, and thefurther delivery ofthe filaments, whether as a single bundle or asaplurality of bundles, for the cutting from them of groups of, fibersintended for assembly into a stapleiiber product, should be effected insuch a Way as not to influence the rate of delivery of the iilamentsfrom the package.

, A further featureof the invention therefore resides in the provisionof an airr jet for forwarding the filaments delivered from the pack,-age, the non-positive urging of the filaments by the rjet enabling themto be delivered at a speed equal precisely to the peripheral speed ofthe package throughout the unwinding operation.

By way of example a form o f mechanism suitable for carrying out theinvention Will now be described in greater detail with reference to theaccompanying drawingin which:4

Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 a front 'elevation of Aa windingunit for winding a continuous filament artificial yarn continuously withits production; y

Fig. 3 shows a detail of the mechanism of Figs. 1and2;andI

Figs. 4 and 5 are a'side Velevation partly in section and frontelevation respectively of an unwinding mechanism suitable for thepurposes of the present invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 a continuous lila-l ment artificial yarn I isdrawn from the spinning cabinet 2 in which it is produced and ledthrough a guide 3 which it leaves in the form of two separated bundlesof filaments 4. The bundles 4 are led separately through a pair ofguides 5, 6 to a package 1 on which they are traversed by means of theguides 5 and 6. The package 1 is built on a package support 8 secured toa spindle 9 by means of an end plate l0 and a screw II, which clamp thepackage support 8 against a large driving flange I2 carried by thespindle 5. The spindle 9 is pivotally secured at I3 to an arm |4swinging about a shaft l5. The driving fiange I2 rests on a drivingroller l5 mounted on a shaft I1, the shafts I5 and I1 extending thewhole length of the spinning apparatus 2 and serving a large number ofwinding units. The rotation of the flange I2 by means of the roller ISrotates the package 1 at a constant angular speed so that the bundles offilaments 4 are wound on the package.

The guides 5 and 6 are shown in greater detail in Fig. 3. They aretraversed by means of a shaft IB carrying a collar I3 on which theguides 5 and 6 are formed, the guides being made of benty wire and beingsupported in ltheir traverse by means of a supporting bar 20. By thesemeans the two bundles of filaments 4 are led in slightly spacedrelationship to the package 1. The tangential paths followed by the twobundles to the periphery of the package l1 are slightly different, andthe two bundles are laid on the package out of phase with each other, sothat they are subsequently abley to leave the package as separatebundles without dini.- culty. Since the package 1 rotates at a constantangular speed, and since its diameter increases slightly during thewinding operation, its peripheral speed also increases slightly. As aconsequence, the denier of the filaments falls slightly from the insideto the outside of the package, the rate of delivery from the spinningcabinet 2 being constant in terms of weight, and the delivery in termsof length of yarn being determined by the peripheral speed of thepackage 1. Thus, each turn of yarn round the package represents acertain winding time, and a certain weight of yarn, the length of a turnof yarn varying from inside to the outside of the package.

When the package 'I is completed the arm I4 is raised and the spindle 9pivoted outwards, so that the completed package may be replaced by a newpackage support 8. In the meantime the yarn delivered from the spinningcabinet 2 is collected on the driving roller I6 which eX- tends past theguides 5 and 6, for this purpose, the yarn thus collected being slid olito a narrow portion 2| of the roller I5 and subsequently cut ofi aswaste.

Unwinding of the package formed on the mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2is effected by the mechanism shown in Figs. 4 and 5 in which the packagesupport 8 is provided with a pair of driving flanges 24 for the purposeof unwinding, the driving flanges 24 resting on two pairs of frictionwheels 25. The friction wheels 25 are mounted on shafts 26 which aredriven from a shaft 21 by means of gears 28 and a driving chain 29passing round sprockets 30. By these means the package 1 is rotated at aconstant angular speed and the bundles of filaments 4 wound thereon aredelivered at a constant rate in terms of weight, each rotation of thepackage 1 representing a fixed `weight of yarn by reason of the mannerin which the package Was'wound.

The bundles 4 leaving the package 1 pass through guides 32 and overrollers 33 surfaced with rubber, gutta-percha, or other materialappropriately removed in the electro-static series from the basicmaterial of the filaments, as is 5 described in U. S. application S.233,535 filed October 6, 1938. The rollers 33 are driven at a speedgreater than the rate of delivery of the bundles 4 from the package 1 bymeans of a belt 34 and pulleys 35, 36, the pulley 35 being 10 mounted onthe shaft 21 and the pulley 36 on the shaft 31 carrying the rollers 33.In consequence the rollers rub against the bundles of filaments 4 andcause them to be charged with static electricity. The arc of contactmade by the filal5 ments'with the roller 33 may be adjusted by adjustingthe position of the guide 32. The guide 32 is formed at the end of a rod38 passing through holes in a pair of spring elements 3S, the spring inthe elements 39 and their Obliquity holding 20 the rod 38 firmlytherein. By pinching the members 39 together, however, the rod 38 may beslid in or out to adjust the arc of contact of the filaments on therollers 33. The members 39 are mounted on a traverse bar 40, by means of25 which the guides 32 are traversed to and fro along the length of therollers 33.

From the rollers 33 the bundles 4 are led through a guide tube 4| havingan internal nozzle 42 supplied through a pipe 43 with com- 30 pressedair from a header 44, the current of air through the tube 4| drawing thefilaments from the package 1, over the rollers 33, and into and throughthe tube 4|. As is shown in Fig. 5, there are two tubes 4|, one for eachof the two 35 bundles of filaments 4 wound on the package, and the firmbut non-positive pull of the air jets, together with the manner in whichthe bundles 4 were wound, draws the bundles from the package vandprevents filaments belonging to one bundle becoming attached to theother.

From the tube 4| the bundle 4 is conducted to a guide member 45 providedwith an internal air nozzle 46 supplied from the header 44 by means of atube 41. The blast through the air nozzle 45 46 blows the filamentsthrough a diverging nozzle 48 by means of which they are spread out inthe form of a fiat band 49. By means of the diverging nozzle 48 and byreason of their electrification on the roller 33 the filaments in 50 thebundle 4 vare separated from each other to permit successive groups ofseparated fibers to be cut from the end of the bundle by means of acutter 5D of the hair clipper type in the manner described in U. S.application S. No.

` 155,226 filed. July 23, 1937. As described in that specification thesuccessive groups of separated fibers are drawn on to a band 5| bysuction induced through a suction pipe 52 in such a manner that theforward ends of fibers of each group extend beyond the rearward ends offibers of the preceding group. The fibers are then compacted into acoherent staple fiber product by means of rubbing bands 53.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. Process for the production of staple fiber yarns and like products,said process comprising taking a package formed of a bundle of filamentsthat has a denier varying inversely with the diameter at which it iswound on the package, rotating said package at a definite speed such asto permit the withdrawal of the bundle of filaments at a rate varyinginversely with the denier of the bundle, separating .the filaments fromeach other, cutting successive groups of separated fibers ofpredetermined length from the ends of the separated filaments,assembling said groups in such a manner that the forward ends of fibersof each group extend beyond the rearward ends of fibers of the precedinggroup, and compacting the assembled groups of fibers into a coherentstaple fiber product of substantially uniform denier.

2. Process for the production of staple fiber yarns and like products,said process comprising extruding a spinning solution in the form of abundle of continuous filaments, drawing said filaments from the point ofextrusion and winding them on a package support by rotating said packagesupport at a definite speed, so that the denier of the bundle variesinversely with the varying diameter of the package during its formation,and subsequently rotating the package at a deiinite speed such as topermit the withdrawal of the bundle at a rate Varying inversely with thedenier of the bundle, separating the` filaments from each other, cuttingsuccessive groups of separated bers of predetermined length from theends of the separated laments, assembling said groups in such a mannerthat the forward ends of bers of each group extend beyond the rearwardends of fibers of the preceding group and compacting the assembledgroups of fibers into a coherent staple fiber product of substantiallyuniform denier.

3. Process for the production of staple fiber yarns and like products,said process comprising taking a package formed of a bundle of filamentsthat has a denier varying inversely with the diameter at which it iswound on the package, rotating said package at a denite speed such as topermit the Withdrawal of the bundle of filaments at a rate varyinginversely with the denier of the bundle, splitting said bundle into twosmaller bundles and, in each bundle, separating the filaments from eachother, cutting successive groups of separated fibers of predeterminedlength from the ends of the separated filaments, assembling said groupsin such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group extendbeyond the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group, andvcompacting the assembled groups of fibers into a coherent staple fiberproduct of substantially uniform denier.

4. Process for the production of staple fiber yarns and like products,said process comprising extruding a spinning solution in the form of abundle of continuous filaments, drawing said filaments from the point ofyextrusion and winding them on a package support by rotating saidpackage support at a definite speed, so that the denier of the bundlevaries inversely with the varying diameter of the package during itsformation, subsequently rotating the package at a definite speed such asto permit the withdrawal of the bundle at a rate Varying inversely withthe denier of the bundle, splitting said bundle into two smallerbundles, and, in each of said smaller bundles, separating the filamentsfrom each other, cutting successive groups of separated fibers ofpredetermined length from the ends of the separated filaments,assembling said groups in such a manner that the forward ends of fibersof each group extend beyond the rearward ends of fibers of the precedinggroup and compacting the assembled groups of fibers into a coherentstaple fiber product of substantially uniform denier.

5. Process for the production of staple fiber yarns and like products,said process comprising extruding a spinning solution in the form of abundle of continuous filaments, drawing said bundle from the point ofextrusion, dividing said bundle into two smaller bundles, and windingthem on a single package support by rotating said package support'at adefinite speed, so that the denier of the bundles varies inversely withthe varying diameter ofthe package during its formation, subsequentlyrotating the package at a deiinite speed such as to permit thewithdrawal of the bundles at a rate varying inversely with their denier,and, in each bundle, separating the filaments from each other, cuttingsuccessive groups of separated fibers of predetermined length from theends of the separated filaments, assembling said groups in such a mannerthat the forward ends of fibers of each group extend beyond the rearwardends of fibers of the precedto permit the withdrawal of the bundle offilaments at a rate varying inversely with the denier of the bundle,non-positively withdrawing the filaments from saidvpositively rotatingpackage by means of an air jet, separating the filaments from eachother, cutting successive groups of separated fibers of predeterminedlength from the ends of the separated laments, assembling said groups insuch a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group extendbeyond the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group, andcompacting the assembled groups of fibers into a coherent staple fiberproduct of substantially uniform denier.

7. Process for the production of staple ber yarns and like products,said process comprising extruding a spinning solution in the form of abundle of continuous filaments, drawing said bundle from the point ofextrusion, dividing said bundle into two smaller bundles, and windingthem on a single package support by rotating said package support at adefinite speed, so that the denier of the bundles varies inversely withthe varyingA diameter of the package during its formation, subsequentlyrotating the package at a denite speed such as to permitthe withdrawalof the bundle at a rate varying inversely with the denier of the bundle,non-positively withdrawing the filaments from said positively rotatf ingpackage by means of an air jet, and, in each bundle, separating thefilaments from each other, cutting successive groups of separated fibersof predetermined length from the ends of the separated filaments,assembling said groups in such a manner that the forward ends of fibersof each group extend beyond the rearward ends of fibers of the precedinggroup and compacting the assembled groups of fibers into a coherentstaple fiber product lof substantially uniform' denier.

WILLIAM POOL.

